COL.  GEORGE  WASHINGTON  FLOWERS 
MEMORIAL  COLLECTION 


DUKE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
DURHAM,  N.  C. 


PRESENTED  BY 

W.  W.  FLOWERS 


BISHOP  IVES'  SERMON 

at  Tin: 

NORTH-CAROLINA  CONVENTION, 
1832. 


A  SERMON 


AT 

# 

THE    OPENING  OF  THE  FIRST  CONVENTION 


AFTER  HIS  ENTERING  ON 


THE    DUTIES    OF    HIS  EPISCOPATE: 


DELIVERED  IN  ST.  PAUL'S  CHURCH,  EDENTON,  N.  C. 
MAY,  1833: 


BY  THE 

RIGHT  REVEREND  LEVI  SILLIMAN  IVES,  D.  D. 

BISHOP  OF  THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  IN  THE 
STATE  OF  NORTH-CAROLINA. 


NEW-YORK: 

PRINTED  AT  THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  PRESS. 
1832. 


Edenton,  May  19th,  1832. 

Rt.  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir, 

With  much  pleasure  I  communicate  the  following  resolution,  passed  by 
the  Convention  of  the  Church  in  this  Diocese,  at  its  present  Session  ;  and  respect- 
fully beg  leave  to  unite  with  my  brethren  in  the  request  which  it  contains. 

With  sincere  and  respectful  consideration, 

Your  obedient  and  humble  Servant, 

J.  R.  Goodman, 

In  behalf  of  Committee. 


In  Convention,  May  18th,  1832. 
Resolced,  That  the  thanks  of  this  Convention  be  communicated  to  the  Right 
Reverend  Diocesan,  for  the  Discourse  delivered  by  him  this  day,  and  that  a 
Committee  be  appointed  to  request  a  copy  for  publication. 


SERMON 


l  Cor.  ii.  1,2. 

"And  I,  Brethren,  when  I  came  to  you,  came  not  with  excellency  of  speech  or  of 
wisdom,  declaring  unto  you  the  testimony  of  God  ; 

"For  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and 
him  crucified." 

It  is  a  circumstance  contributing  no  slight  evidence  to  the 
divine  character  of  the  Gospel,  that  it  has  prevailed  in  the  hands 
of  so  feeble  an  agent  as  man.  Had  the  angels  of  light,  those 
ministers  of  God  "that  excel  in  strength,"  been  commissioned 
to  preach  his  word,  and  to  give  effect  to  its  heavenly  truths  and 
precepts,  we  might  reasonably  have  looked  for  the  most  successful 
results.  But  when  we  hear  the  mandate  given  to  twelve  un- 
lettered men,  with  their  successors  to  the  end  of  time,  "  Go  teach 
all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  f '  when  we  see  these  men  actually 
going  forth  to  an  encounter  with  human  corruption  and  infernal 
artifice,  it  will  require  something  more  than  what  appears  on 
the  field  of  contest  to  justify  any  other  expectation  than  the 
immediate  and  utter  defeat  of  a  band  so  feeble.  But  the  Gospel, 
with  such  supporters  and  such  adversaries,  has  come  off  tri- 
umphant ;  has,  for  eighteen  hundred  years,  and  with  no  one  but 
man  to  wield  the  implements  of  its  warfare,  enjoyed  a  succession 
of  most  brilliant  and  daily  extending  conquests.  The  conclusion 
is  inevitable  : — Our  faith  stands  not  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but  in 
the  power  of  God  ;  neither  is  he  that  planteth  any  thing,  neither  he 
that  watereth,  but  God  that  giveth  the  increase.  Here  then  is  the 
ground  of  our  confidence  ;  the  plea  we  offer  for  our  high  endea- 
vors; the  pledge  we  give  for  the  fulfilment  of  our  sacred  trust. 
The  Lord  of  Hosts  is  with  us9  the  God  of  Jacob  is  our  refuge ! 
We  are  not  sufficient  of  ourselves  to  think  any  thing  as  of  ourselves, 
but  our  sufficiency  is  of  God  ! 

Inspired  by  this  truth,  St.  Paul  entered  with  joy  upon  the 


4 


trying  labors  of  his  apostleship  ;  under  its  animating  convictions 
martyrs  and  confessors  fought  manfully  the  good  fight  of  faith; 
while  to  the  faithful  ministers  of  Christ  in  every  age  it  has 
furnished  the  only  source  of  encouragement,  the  only  warrant 
of  success. 

Christian  Brethren  !  When  the  most  unlooked  for  event  of 
my  having  been  chosen  to  the  office  of  a  Bishop  in  the  Church 
of  God  was  first  made  known  to  me,  I  could  think  of  little  but 
my  unworthiness  and  insufficiency.  The  magnitude  of  such  an 
office ;  its  dignity ;  its  sacredness ;  its  demands  of  wisdom,  of 
labor,  of  self-denial  in  the  particular  region  where  I  was  called 
to  exercise  its  functions ;  all  united,  with  the  characters  of  diffi- 
culty impressed  upon  it  by  the  master-hand  which  had  just 
performed  so  eminently  and  with  such  prodigious  strength  its 
high  requirements,  to  elevate  it  before  my  mind  in  a  light  truly 
appalling :  and  it  was  not  till  the  circumstances  of  the  case 
induced  the  belief  that  the  providence  of  God  directed  me  to 
this  scene  of  duty  ;  till  prayerful  meditation  led  me  to  perceive 
that,  in  my  appointment,  He  had  followed  the  usual  line  of  his 
proceedings,  choosing  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the 
things  which  arc  mighty ;  that  I  could  feel  assured  of  not  acting 
presumptuously  in  accepting  this  difficult  and  most  responsible 
charge. 

"  When,  therefore,  I  came  to  you,  Brethren,  I  came  not  with 
excellency  of  speech  or  of  wisdom,  declaring  unto  you  the 
testimony  of  God  ;  for  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing 
among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ,  and  him  crucified  :"  and  now, 
although  I  am  with  you  in  weakness,  and  in  fear,  and  in  much 
trembling,  yet  strong  is  my  confidence  that  God  will  be  with 
me  :  that  He,  who  hath  given  his  promise  to  his  ministers,  "  Ltf, 
I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world,"  will 
not  now  leave  His  servant,  unworthy  as  he  may  be,  to  the 
discouragements  of  unblest  exertion,  but  will  uphold  him  by  the 
right  hand  of  His  power,  and  make  him  an  instrument  of  some 
good  to  His  Church.  When  I  inquire  for  human  strength  or 
fitness,  my  heart  is  indeed  desolate  within  me,  but  God  is  the 
strength  of  my  heart,  and  to  Him  will  I  look  as  my  portion  for  ever. 


5 


Brethren  of  the  Clergy,  ice  are  laborers  together  with  God;  and 
while  the  reflection  suggests  the  certainty  of  our  success  in 
Him,  let  us  not  overlook  the  truth,  that  it  does  as  plainly  inti- 
mate a  connexion  between  our  success  and  our  duty ;  that  in 
order  to  ensure  the  presence  of  God  with  us,  we  must  be  labor- 
ers with  him;  must  put  forth  our  efforts  in  accordance  with  his 
will :  "  Son  of  man,  I  have  set  thee  a  watchman  unto  the  house 
of  Israel,  therefore  thou  shalt  hear  the  word  from  my  mouth, 
and  warn  them  from  me  ;"  "  If  any  man  speak,  let  him  speak 
us  the  oracles  of  God  ;  if  any  man  minister,  let  him  do  it  as  of 
the  ability  which  God  giveth ;  that  God  in  all  things  may  be 
glorified  through  Jesus  Christ."  So  then  we  are  ambassadors 
for  Christ  ;  and  consequently,  to  ensure  any  reasonable  pros- 
pect of  success,  we  must  faithfully  deliver  the  message  with 
which  we  have  been  intrusted.  But  in  what  does  this  message 
consist  ?  This  question,  I  doubt  not,  has  already  been  well 
weighed  and  settled  in  the  mind  of  each  one  of  my  clerical 
brethren  present ;  still  the  occasion  seems  to  furnish  a  sufficient 
apology  for  its  being  presented  anew  to-day,  and  somewhat  in 
detail.  By  this  means  you  will  be  put  in  possession  of  my  views 
of  Christian  doctrine  and  ministerial  fidelity  ;  while  these  views, 
so  far  as  they  deserve  to  have  weight  with  you,  may  tend  to  stir 
up  your  minds  by  way  of  remembrance,  and  to  animate  our  brethren 
of  the  laity  in  those  good  old  paths  of  life,  which  apostles  trod, 
and  in  which  they  called  upon  all  to  follow,  clad  in  the  whole 
armor  of  God. 

What  then  is  our  message  to  sinners  1  To  answer  this  inquiry, 
and  to  make  a  suitable  application  of  the  subject,  is  my  design 
on  the  present  occasion. 

I.  The  message  of  the  Gospel  minister. 
"  I  determined  not  to  know  any  thing  among  you,"  writes  St. 
Paul  to  the  Churches  at  Corinth,  "save  Jes'us  Christ  and  him 
crucified."  As  I  have  chosen  this  language  to  express  to  you, 
Brethren,  the  fixed  purpose  of  my  ministry,  you  will  at  once 
perceive  that  I  regard  it  as  embracing  the  whole  sum  of  minis- 
terial duty;  and  hence,  that  my  first  object  will  be  sufficiently 
answered,  when  all  that  is  implied  in  the  expression,  "Jesus 


Christ  and  him  crucified"  shall  have  been  fully  and  explicitly 
made  known  to  you. 

Restricting  our  view,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  simple  meaning 
of  the  words  themselves,  we  shall  have  this  truth,  Jesus  Christ 
the  Saviour  of  men,  the  Anointed  of  God,  and  him  crucified,  him 
bearing  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on  the  tree.  The  isolated 
expression,  therefore,  points  us  directly  to  that  stupendous 
transaction  so  prominent  on  the  pages  of  the  Gospel  record, — 
God  the  Father  offering  upon  the  cross  his  only- 
begotten  Son,  as  a  victim  to  divine  justice  in  the  place 
op  fallen  and  condemned  man.  No  wonder  that  a  truth  so 
interesting  to  the  sinner,  so  vital  in  the  scheme  of  his  salvation, 
yet  so  repugnant  to  the  prejudiced  Jew,  so  confounding  to  the 
haughty  and  self-sufficient  Greek,  should  have  engrossed  the 
whole  mind  of  the  Apostle^  and  become,  as  it  were,  the  living 
principle  of  all  his  instructions  !  Still,  as  no  one  could  be  more 
solicitous  than  he,  to  declare  the  whole  counsel  of  God,  and  as  the 
whole  counsel  of  God  is  absolutely  inseparable  from  the  doctrine 
of  Christ  crucified,  we  may  reasonably  expect  to  find  him  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duties,  giving  to  every  part  of  the  Christian 
scheme  its  appropriate  significance.  On  turning  to  his  Epis- 
tles, this  expectation  is  abundantly  realized.  In  that  to  the 
Corinthians,  from  which  the  text  is  taken,  the  cardinal  truth  is 
every  where  insisted  on  ;  Other  foundation  can  no  man  lay  than 
that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ  ;  still  this  "foundation"  is 
presented  as  sustaining  a  grand  and  finished  edifice.  But  as  the 
ultimate  design  of  St.  Paul  must  be  supposed  the  same  in  every 
Epistle,  we  are  at  liberty,  in  our  inquiries  into  his  views  of 
preaching  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified,  to  have  recourse  to 
all  of  his  inspired  writings. 

What  then,  Secondly,  is  the  full  meaning  of  this  expression 
as  understood  by  the  Apostle  himself? 

In  no  portion  of  his  writings  has  he  furnished  any  thing  like  a 
well  arranged  system  of  Gospel  truth,  except  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Romans.  Generally  his  instructions,  being  local  and  particular 
in  their  application,  are  given  without  method ;  while  here,  the 
great  object  in  view  appearing  to  demand  it,  the  leading  points 


7 


of  Christian  doctrine  are  so  digested  into  a  connected  train  of 
argument  as  to  bring  each  point  before  the  mind  according  to 
the  most  natural  order.  The  truths,  however,  thus  presented 
in  this  one  Epistle,  are  set  forth  with  equal  clearness  and  force 
in  almost  every  other.  While  then  I  adopt,  in  regard  to  the 
first  great  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  the  arrangement 
observed  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  I  would  direct  you,  for 
the  support  of  these  principles,  to  every  part  of  the  apostolic 
writings. 

1.  We  begin  then  with  the  deep  and  general  corruption  of 
mankind  by  the  fall  of  Adam  : — a  truth  equally  humiliating  and 
fundamental.  To  establish  it,  St.  Paul  appeals  to  facts;  proving, 
from  their  own  depraved  lives,  that  both  Jews  and  Gentiles  are 
all  under  sin ; — agreeably  to  what  was  anciently  written  in  the 
Book  of  Psalms,  "There  is  none  righteous,  no,  not  one  :  there 
is  none  that  understandeth,  there  is  none  that  seeketh  after 
God  ;  they  are  all  gone  out  of  the  way,  they  are  together 
become  unprofitable ;  there  is  none  that  doeth  good,  no,  not 
one." 

Lest  it  should  be  urged,  that  this  wide-spread  corruption  in 
manners  was  the  effect  of  mere  outward  circumstances,  to  be 
corrected  by  some  future  and  well-timed  efforts  of  men,  the 
Apostle  charges  it  directly  upon  a  corrupt  nature,  universally 
entailed  through  the  transgression  of  our  forefather  Adam. 
"  Wherefore,  by  one  man  sin  entered  into  the  world,  and  death 
by  sin,  and  so  death  passed  upon  all  men,  for  that  all  have 
sinned."  Here  then  was  an  effectual  bar  to  any  hope  from 
human  merit  or  human  exertion.  The  whole  world  was  shown 
from  its  own  willing  and  aggravated  impieties,  to  stand  guilty 
before  God  :  and  as  all  law,  natural  and  revealed,  moral  and 
ceremonial,  had  been  broken,  and,  from  this  original  and  uni- 
versal bias  to  evil,  must  continue  to  be  broken,  no  means  of 
escape  could  possibly  arise  from  such  a  source;  for  "by  the 
deeds  of  the  law  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  ;  and  there  is  no 
difference,  for  all  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of  the  glory  of 
God."  Thus  arraigning  the  world  of  the  ungodly  before  a  law 
that  is  holy,  just  and  good,  and  pointing  them  to  its  numberless 


violations  through  their  wanton  perverseness,  the  Apostle  would 
fasten  upon  them  the  conviction  of  deep,  inborn  sinfulness,  and 
of  the  consequently  just  and  awful  punishment  that  hung  over 
their  eternity. 

At  this  stage  of  the  argument,  he  is  prepared  to  open  before 
them  the  way  of  salvation.  Having  placed  them  all  beneath 
the  doom  of  a  righteous  sentence,  proved  that  they  had  together 
become  unprofitable  before  God,  with  no  prospect  in  themselves 
of  being  able  or  disposed  to  alter  their  condition,  he  has  come 
to  a  point,  from  which  he  can  most  forcibly  exhibit  the  value 
and  the  freeness  of  the  gift  of  eternal  life,  through  the  right- 
eousness and  death  of  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God. 

2.  Here  then  is  the  second  fundamental  point  of  Christian 
faith,  urged  by  St.  Paul ;  and  although  second  in  the  order  of 
arrangement,  yet  not  second  in  the  grade  of  importance.  In 
fact,  it  is  the  chief  corner-stone  in  this  spiritual  edifice ;  that  which 
upholds  every  other  part,  and  gives  strength  and  perfection  to 
the  whole  structure.  What,  indeed,  were  the  value  of  Chris- 
tianity, without  the  doctrine  of  Christ  crucified  ;  of  his 
vicarious  sacrifice  on  the  cross  for  sinners  ?  Take  this  away,  and 
you  remove  the  very  sun  from  the  Gospel  system.  Without  it, 
every  thing  is  cold  and  dark.  Without  it,  every  blessing  is 
annihilated;  every  hope  made  illusive  as  the  visions. of  night. 
Of  whatever  importance,  then,  to  the  sinner,  may  be  the  other 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  this  is  his  city  of  refuge  from  the 
avenger  ;  his  ark  of  safety  from  the  all-devouring  flood.  It  is 
manifestly  held  in  this  estimate  by  the  Apostle. 

"As  by  one  offence,"  says  he,  "sentence  came  upon  all  men 
to  condemnation  ;  even  so  by  one  act  of  righteousness,  the  free 
gift  came  upon  all  men  unto  justification  of  life:"  for  "God  com- 
mendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that,  while  we  were  yet  sinners, 
Christ  died  for  us.  Much  more,  then,  being  now  justified  by 
his  blood,  we  shall  be  saved  from  wrath  through  him.  For  if, 
when  we  were  enemies,  we  were  reconciled  to  God  by  the 
death  of  his  Son,  much  more,  being  reconciled,  shall  we  be  saved 
by  his  life.  And  not  only  so,  but  we  also  joy  in  God,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  by  whom  we  have  now  received  the 


9 


atonement"  "For  the  wages  of  sin  is  death,  but  the  gift  of  God 
is  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 

Language,  so  clear  in  itself,  and  so  faithfully  expressive  of 
the  original,  needs  little  comment  from  me.  To  the  mind 
unfettered  by  prejudice,  it  will  convey  this  simple  meaning  ; — 
That,  in  his  death  on  the  cross,  Jesus  Christ  paid  to  divine 
justice  the  penalty  due  from  sinners  on  account  of  transgression ; 
and  thus  opened  a  way  by  which  they  may  be  justified  before  God, 
and  become  partakers  oj  everlasting  life  and  joy.  To  me,  it  has 
always  been  matter  of  wonder  that  any  one,  with  any  thing  like 
a  proper  knowledge  of  the  apostolical  Epistles,  should  arrive  at 
a  different  conclusion ;  or  with  even  a  slight  acquaintance  with 
the  nature  of  his  own  "  works  and  deservings,"  should  desire  to 
do  so.  The  perversion  must  be  ascribed,  in  charity  to  reason, 
to  the  workings  of  that  corrupt  heart  of  which  I  have  spoken  as 
so  busy  and  so  predominant  in  every  carnal  breast,  and  against 
which  in  the  study  of  the  divine  word,  I  shall  presently  have 
occasion  to  warn  you.  My  object  now  being  not  so  much  the 
defence,  as  a  mere  statement  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  I 
proceed  to  notice  two  important  ideas  which  St.  Paul  never  fails 
to  connect  with  this  momentous  doctrine  of  atonement :  the 
first  having  respect  to  the  nature  of  the  atoning  sacrifice  ;  the 
second,  to. the  instrument  by  which  the  blood  of  that  sacrifice  is 
spiritually  applied  to  the  cleansing  away  of  sin. 

In  regard  to  the  nature  of  the  atoning  sacrifice,  we  may 
observe,  that,  as  in  this  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  so  every  where 
in  his  writings,  it  is  set  forth  as  divine.  In  the  passages  already 
adduced  to  show  the  way  of  salvation,  we  are  said  to  have 
received  the  atonement  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  to  have  been 
reconciled  to  God  through  the  death  of  his  Son  :  and  again,  in  a 
succeeding  chapter,  to  have  become  partakers  of  that  love  of 
God  which  moved  Him  not  to  spare  his  own  son,  but  to  deliver 
him  up  for  us  all.  Taking  this  language  in  connexion  with  the 
10th,  11th,  and  12th  verses  of  the  14th  chapter  of  the  same 
Epistle,  we  have  sufficient  proof  that  St.  Paul  did  not  lose  sight 
of  the  deity  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  this  view  submitted  to  the 
Romans  of  his  having  offered  himself,  in  our  nature,  a  sacrifice 
2 


10 


for  sin;  but  that  he  considered  the  two  ideas  as  wholly  insepa- 
rable. In  order,  then,  to  place  the  doctrine  of  vicarious  atone- 
ment by  the  blood  of  Christ,  in  its  own  clear  and  impressive 
light,  the  minister  of  the  Gospel  must  not  be  backward  in 
enforcing  it  by  the  dignity  and  stupendous  condescension  of  the 
divine  victim. 

The  other  idea  to  which  the  Apostle  has  here  given  so  much 
prominence,  relates  to  the  instrument,  by  which  the  atoning 
sacrifice  of  Christ  is  made  available  to  dur  rescue  from  eternal 
misery,  and  to  our  enjoyment  of  eternal  happiness.  And  that 
instrument  is  failh.  Being  naturally  in  a  state  of  guilt  and  con- 
demnation before  God,  "we  are  justified  freely  by  his  grace," 
declares  this  inspired  teacher,  "through  the  redemption  that  is 
in  Christ  Jesus,  whom  God  hath  set  forth  to  be  a  propitiation 
through  faith  in  his  blood,  to  declare  his  righteousness  for  the 
remission  of  sins  that  are  past,  through  the  forbearance  of  God  ; 
that  he  might  be  just,  and  the  justifier  of  him  which  believeth  in 
Jesus  :" — "  Therefore  we  conclude  that  a  man  is  justified  by 
faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law."  Faith,  then,  is  the  instru- 
ment of  our  justification  :  I  say  the  instrument,  it  being  some- 
times most  unscripturally  represented  as  the  meritorious  cause. 
The  expression,  a  man  is  justified  by  faith,  viewed  in  connexion 
with  the  verses  immediately  preceding  it,  will  be  found  to  mean, 
not  that  our  faith  is  the  purchase  of  justification,  which  we  owe 
solely  to  the  blood  of  Christ,  but  that,  through  faith,  as  an 
instrument,  "  we  obtain  the  benefit  of  redemption  wrought  by 
Jesus  Christ." 

The  unsanctified  heart  of  man,  in  order  to  evade  the  humi- 
liating resort  of  utter  dependence  upon  another,  may  perhaps 
satisfy  itself  with  a  reference  to  the  merits  of  Christ  for  just 
enough  to  make  up  the  deficiencies  of  what  it  esteems  an  almost 
perfect  life,  or  to  render  that  life  acceptable  at  the  bar  of  judg- 
ment; in  the  same  manner  as  the  influence  of  a  powerful  friend 
sometimes  gives  success  to  our  petitions  with  the  great.  But 
when  we  apply  our  minds  honestly  to  the  truth  as  exhibited  by 
St.  Paul,  we  shall  at  once  see  the  folly  of  all  these  evasions,  and 
be  led  to  the  conclusion,  however  mortifying  to  our  pride,  that 


1 1 


we  are  miserable,  unprofitable  sinners,  in  the  midst  Gf  our  best 
services,  dependent,  and  exclusively,  upon  the  atoning  merits  of 
Christ,  for  salvation  from  hell,  and  for  admittance  to  heaven. 
That  neither  faith,  nor  works,  nor  any  thing  else  belonging  to 
us,  enters,  in  any  sense,  into  the  procuring  cause  of  our  justifi- 
cation ;  but  that  the  purchase  of  this  is  alone  the  blood-perfected 
righteousness  of  a  crucified  Redeemer.  On  no  other  ground 
could  the  Apostle,  with  any  semblance  of  reason,  declare,  that 
we  are  justified  freely  by  the  grace  of  God,  through  the  redemption 
that  is  in  Christ  Jesus.  But,  as  1  said,  the  merits  of  this 
redemption  must  be  appropriated  to  ourselves  by  means  of  faith, 
as  an  instrument.  In  better  words,  "  God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 

3.  Although  this  truth  is  so  intimately  connected  with  our 
last  general  proposition,  yet  its  importance  will  justify  me  in 
presenting  it  as  the  third  point  insisted  on  by  the  Apostle. 

In  entering  upon  a  consideration  of  the  office  of  Gospel  faith 
in  the  scheme  of  redemption,  I  feel,  Brethren,  that  I  am  engaged 
at  the  very  source  of  all  spiritual  life — am  about  to  hold  up  to 
your  view  the  most  essential  attribute  in  the  character  of  that 
man,  who  is  created  anew,  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works. 
Hence  the  duty  of  being  in  our  statements  plain  and  explicit. 
To  this,  St.  Paul  seems  to  have  furnished  every  aid  :  and  nothing 
can  be  more  important  than  our  entire  reliance  upon  this  aid  in 
settling  a  point  so  vital  to  our  eternal  well-being.  Now  to  my 
mind,  as  I  look  into  the  writings  of  this  Apostle,  one  thing  seems 
perfectly  clear ;  viz.  that  we  are  justified  by  faith  without  the 
icorks  of  the  law.  In  other  words,  that  faith,  considered  simply 
as  a  principle  of  affectionate  trust  in  the  heart,  is  the  instrument 
of  our  justification ;  the  instrument  by  which  our  cordial  assent  is 
given  to  the  plan  of  salvation  through  the  righteousness  and  death 
of  the  Son  of  God.  From  this  office  of  faith,  therefore,  works  of 
every  description  are  absolutely  excluded.  Many  persons, 
generally  correct  in  their  doctrinal  views,  have  erred  here  from 
too  great  precipitancy — -from  their  crowding  into  the  foundation 
that  which  properly  belongs  to  the  superstructure.    Their  fears 


12 


lest  repentance  and  obedience  should  be  overlooked,  have  led  thern 
to  hurry  these  essential  qualifications  of  the  Christian  into  the 
foreground  of  the  plan  of  mercy — to  connect  them  with  faith, 
in  its  high  office  of  leading  the  sinner  to  a  heart-felt  and  justifying 
confidence  in  the  blood  of  Christ  ;  whereas  St.  Paul  excludes 
them  from  partaking  at  all  in  this  particular  ivork,  while  he 
assigns  them  in  the  scheme  of  practical  godliness,  a  no  less 
important,  but  very  different  place.  Whoever  wishes  to  see  this 
point  fully  and  Scripturally  discussed,  will  do  well  to  consult 
"A  Summary  View  of  the  Doctrine  of  Justification,"  by  the 
learned  and  pious  Dr.  Waterland.*  And  besides,  he  will 
find,  by  reference  to  the  early  Fathers,  the  English  Reformers, 
the  Articles  and  Homilies  of  our  Church,  the  same  views  clearly 
presented.  The  language  of  our  Eleventh  Article  is  explicit : 
it  is  the  following ;  "We  are  accounted  righteous  before  God 
only  for  the  merit  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  by 
faith,  and  not  for  our  own  works  or  deservings.  Wherefore, 
that  we  are  justified  by  faith  only,  is  a  most  wholesome  doctrine, 
and  very  full  of  comfort,  as  more  largely  is  expressed  in  the 
Homily  of  Justification."  In  that  Homily  the  subjoined  passage 
is  directly  to  the  point : — "  St.  Paul  declareth  nothing  upon  the 
behalf  of  man  concerning  his  justification,  but  only  a  true  and 
lively  faith ;  and  yet  that  faith  doth  not  shut  out  repentance, 
hope,  love,  dread,  and  the  fear  of  God,  to  be  joined  with  faith 
in  every  man  that  is  justified ;  but  it  shutteth  them  out  from  the 
office  of  justifying."  And  why  ]  The  same  Homily  answers — 
"  Because  faith  doth  directly  send  us  to  Christ  for  remission  of 
our  sins,  and  that,  by  faith  given  us  of  God,  we  embrace  the 
promise  of  God's  mercy,  and  of  the  remission  of  our  sins,  (which 
thing  none  other  of  our  virtues  or  works  properly  doth,)  there- 
fore, the  Scripture  useth  to  say,  that  faith  without  ivorks  doth 
justify."  To  the  same  purpose  Clemens  Romanus,  a  companion 
of  St.  Paul,  declares,  speaking  of  the  salvation  of  the  Old  Testa- 

*  This  excellent  treatise,  edited  by  the  self-denying  rector  of  Christ  Church, 
Nashville,  Tennessee,  has  been  published  in  a  tract  form,  and  may  now  be  had  at 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Press,  New-York,  or  of  their  agents  at  Wilmington,  Fay- 
etteville,  and  Raleigh,  in  this  State. 


18 


ment  saints,  "  They  were  all  greatly  glorified  and  magnified, " — ■ 
I  use  the  translation  of  Dr.  Waterland — "not  for  their  own 
sake,  or  for  their  own  works,  or  for  the  righteousness  which  they 
themselves  wrought,  but  through  his  good  pleasure.  And  we 
also  being  called  through  his  good  pleasure  in  Christ  Jesus, 
are  not  justified  by  ourselves,  neither  by  our  own  wisdom,  or 
knowledge,  or  piety,  or  the  works  which  we  have  done  in  holiness 
of  heart,  but  by  that  faith  by  which  Almighty  God  justified  all 
from  the  beginning." 

From  these  remarks  it  will  be  perceived  that  I  regard  faith, 
in  the  apostolic  sense,  as  something  more  than  a  mental  acqui- 
sition, something  more  than  a  bare  conviction  of  the  understanding, 
however  clear,  that  the  truths  and  events  of  the  Gospel  are 
sustained  by  proper  evidence ;  that  I  regard  it,  in  short,  as  a 
moral  virtue,  deeply  seated  in  the  heart;  and  not  only  interesting 
that  heart  in  the  economy  of  divine  grace  generally,  but  causing 
it  to  repose  entirely  and  with  animating  trust,  in  the  merits  of  a 
crucified  Redeemer  for  the  gift  of  eternal  life.  "  Faith,"  in  the 
words  of  St.  Paul,  "is  the  substance  of  things  hoped  for;"  that 
is,  it  so  impresses  these  things  upon  the  heart  and  mind,  as  to 
give  them,  by  a  certain  effect,  an  actual  subsistence.  "  It  is  the 
evidence  of  things  not  seen,"  "being,  as  it  were,  the  eye  of  the 
mind  looking  to  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  thereby  inwardly 
warming  the  affections  to  a  firm  reliance  upon  it,"  and  entire 
acquiescence  in  the  rules  of  holy  living  it  enjoins. 

Thus  far,  I  have  spoken  only  of  what  the  Apostle  seems  to 
regard  as  the  preparation,  on  the  part  of  man,  to  receive  justifi- 
cation. The  subject,  however,  does  not  terminate  here.  If  I 
have  not  been  greatly  misled  in  my  view  of  the  meaning  of  St. 
Paul,  he  sets  forth  Christian  Baptism  as  the  rite,  in  due  sub- 
mission to  which,  we  are  taught  to  expect,  through  faith  in 
Christ,  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  a  covenant  title  to  the 
favor  of  God  ;  as  the  divinely  instituted  mode  by  which  the  sinner 
may  publicly  declare  his  faith,  plead  guilty  before  God,  and  cast 
himself  entirely  upon  the  mercy  of  his  Judge — and  the  one  in 
which  his  Judge  may  publish  the  remission  of  his  sins,  through 
the  redemption  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus;  and  stipulate  to  give 


14 


him,  by  proper  regard  to  the  terms  of  the  covenant,  the  blessings 
of  eternal  life. 

Before  adducing  that  passage  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
which  appears  to  exhibit  this  truth,  I  would  refer  you  for  its 
manifest  inculcation  to  the  words  of  Him,  who  spake  as  never  man 
spake.  To  the  disciple  who  came  to  him  by  night,  Jesus  said, 
Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  thee,  Except  a  man  be  born  of  water 
and  of  the  Spirit,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God." 
And  again  to  the  twelve,  just  previous  to  his  ascension, — "  He 
that  believeth  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved;  but  he  that  believ- 
eth  not  shall  be  damned."  In  this  language  no  one  can  fail  to 
perceive  that  both  faith  and  baptism  are,  in  some  sense,  con- 
nected with  our  justification :  faith,  as  the  instrument  by  which 
we  receive  this  blessing,  and  baptism,  as  the  contract  on  the  part 
of  God,  by  which  it  is  publicly  conveyed,  and  made  sure  to  us. 
Look  at  the  conversion  of  St.  Paul :  for  three  days  had  he 
evidently  exercised  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  when  Ananias  was 
sent  to  declare  him  justified  in  baptism,  in  the  words  "  Arise  and 
be  baptized,  and  wash  away  thy  sins,  calling  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  Hence  we  ought  to  be  prepared  to  understand  the 
meaning  of  this  same  Apostle,  in  the  passage  to  which  allusion 
was  just  made: — "Know  ye  not,  that  as  many  of  us  as  were  bap- 
tized into  Jesus  Christ,  were  baptized  into  his  death?'  That 
is,  into  a  covenant  title  to  the  merits  of  his  death,  through  which, 
by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  are  enabled  to  die  unto 
sin]  "Wherefore  we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism  into 
death."  In  baptism,  coming  thereto  with  a  lively  faith  in  the 
atoning  blood  of  Christ,  we  receive  from  God  the  Father  a 
solemn  promise  of  our  death  unto  sin,  in  freedom  from  its  penal 
effects,  and  in  an  increased  ability  to  rise  from  its  corruptions,  to 
newness  of  life.  Such  are  the  views  of  St.  Paul,*  sustained,  as 
I  might  show,  by  the  writings  of  most  of  the  Fathers  for  the  first 
four  centuries. f   Therefore,  my  Brethren,  "we  are  the  children 

*  See  Ephes.  v.  25,  2G.  Col.  ii.  1 1,  12,  13.  Tit.  iii.  5,  G,  7.  Heb.  x.  21,  22,  23. 
1  Pet.  iii.  21.    1  Cor.  vi.  11,  with  reference  to  Wolfius  in  loca. 

t  See  quotations  from  the  Fathers  in  the  treatise  of  Dr.  Waterland,  referred  to 
above. 


15 


of  God  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ:  for  as  many  of  us  as  have 
been  baptized  into  Christ,  have  put  on  Christ." 

The  query,  I  am  aware,  may  here  be  made,  '  Whether  no 
salvation  will  be  granted,  except  its  blessings  have  been  sealed  to 
us  in  baptism  ? — whether  a  man  possessing  faith  and  neglecting 
baptism  may  not  finally  be  saved V  Our  answer  is,  "The  mercy 
of  God  is  everlasting,"  and  may  be  extended  beyond  the  institu- 
tions which  he  has  established  for  its  ordinary  conveyance;  but 
that  we  have  no  warrant  for  committing  our  spiritual  interest  to 
such  an  expectation ;  and  that  our  attempt  to  do  so  is  the 
strongest  evidence  against  the  genuineness  of  our  faith.  A  man 
may  be  satisfied  that  he  has  paid  the  full  price  demanded  for  an 
estate;  still  you  will  hardly  see  him  entering  upon  the  uncon- 
cerned possession  of  it,  till  it  has  been  secured  to  him  by  the 
proper  legal  instrument.  So  with  the  true  child  of  God,  he  may 
be  persuaded  that  Christ  has  cancelled  the  debt  due  for  his 
sins  to  divine  justice,  and  that  he  possesses  the  faith  requisite  to 
his  justification:  still  you  will  not  find  him  resting  here,  so  long 
as  he  perceives  that  this  justification  is  to  be  ratified  by  entering 
into  external  covenant  with  his  heavenly  Father.  The  genuine 
disciple  of  Jesus  finds  no  non-essentials  among  the  requirements 
of  that  God  who  made  and  redeemed  him.  Sufficient  for  him 
to  know,  that  so  great,  so  good  a  being  demands  his  service. 
In  his  view,  duty  is  binding  because  God  commands  it;  is  profit- 
able  because  the  appointed  medium  of  his  blessing.  The  lan- 
guage of  such  a  one  is  not,  4  What  may  I  omit  and  finally  arrive 
at  heaven?'  but  that  of  St.  Paul,  "Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have 
me  to  do  ?" 

4.  We  pass  to  the  fourth  particular  of  our  subject,  the  con- 
version  of  the  sinner  to  God  :  the  first  steps  of  which  have  already 
been  brought  to  view,  though  under  a  different  name.  Faith, 
once  planted  in  the  heart  by  a  divine  influence,  must  be  regard- 
ed as  the  commencement  of  that  spiritual  image,  the  possession 
of  which  constitutes  us  new  creatures  in  Christ  ;  or  as  the  semi- 
nal principle  of  all  holiness;  the  seed  from  which,  by  a  sort  of 
spiritual  vegetation,  every  thing  belonging  to  the  new  man  is 
produced. 


16 


The  necessity  of  this  radical  change  in  the  affections  and  the 
life  of  every  fallen  being,  I  hardly  need  say,  is  found  in  that  deep 
and  universal  depravity,  with  the  consideration  of  which  we 
commenced.  "The  natural  man  receiveth  not  the  things  of  the 
Spirit  of  God,  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him;  neither  can  he 
know  them,  because  they  are  spiritually  discerned."  "The 
carnal  mind  is  enmity  against  God — is  not  subject  to  the  law  of 
God,  neither  indeed  can  be:"  and  "to  be  carnally  minded  is 
death."  Three  things,  from  this  language,  are  most  evident; — 
that  the  unrenewed  man  is  pursuing  a  course  of  blind  opposition 
to  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel — that  in  himself  no  adequate  power 
exists  to  arise  to  a  better  state — and  that  to  continue  in  his 
present  condition,  exposes  him  to  the  miseries  of  eternal  death. 
A  question  of  most  thrilling  interest  here  arises ;  whether  in  the 
economy  of  redemption  by  Christ,  sinners  generally  are  fur- 
nished with  the  power  to  rise  from  this  death  of  sin  to  newness 
of  life  1  When  we  contemplate  the  unlimited  offers,  invitations, 
entreaties,  warnings  and  provisions  of  the  Gospel,  we  can  have 
no  hesitation,  surely,  in  giving  to  this  question  an  affirmative 
answer.  Upon  this  principle  the  Apostles  uniformly  proceeded, 
in  publishing  the  truths  of  redemption,  and  in  appealing,  for 
their  enforcement,  to  the  awards  of  final  retribution.  But  as 
the  limits  of  a  single  discourse  forbid  me  to  enlarge,  permit  the 
reference  upon  this  point  to  the  clear  and  well  sustained  argu- 
ment of  Bishop  Sumner  in  his  Apostolical  Preaching,*  a  book 
eminently  calculated,  from  its  concise  and  forcible  exhibition  of 
Gospel  truth,  to  build  up  every  class  of  Christians  in  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints. 

In  this  state  of  weakness  and  corruption,  then,  every  sinner 
under  the  Gospel  is  provided  with  adequate  power  to  subdue  his 
lusts,  and  turn  to  the  ways  of  God.  And  every  where  in  his 
writings  St.  Paul  ascribes  this  power  to  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost — the  Holy  Ghost,  moving  upon  the  heart 
silently,  but  with  increasing  effect,  as  the  means  of  his  influence 

*  See  chap.  iv.  On  Grace.  This  volume  will  be  found  among  the  "  Standard 
Works"  published  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Press,  New- York,  and  may  be 
obtained  of  their  agents  in  this  State. 


17 

enjoined  in  God's  word  arc  employed.  In  that  Epistle  which 
we  have  taken  as  our  guide  this  morning,  he  says,  speaking  of 
the  delightful  influence  of  justifying  faith,  that  this  is  experienced 
"because  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the 
Holy  Ghost,  which  is  given  unto  us."  And  again,  "  If  ye  live 
after  the  flesh  ye  shall  die;  but  if  ye  through  the  Spirit  do 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live ;  for  as  many  as  are 
led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God."  "If  any 
man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ  he  is  none  of  his ;  and  if 
Christ  be  in  you,  the  body  is  dead,  in  respect  to  sin ; — for  we 
can  do  all  things  through  Christ,  that  strengtheneth  us,"  as  the 
renewing  energies  "  of  the  Holy  Ghost  are  shed  on  us  abun- 
dantly through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour."  Whence  it  is 
sufficiently  manifest  that,  in  the  work  of  our  conversion,  our 
only  hope  of  success  is  in  the  all-powerful  help  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  the  third  person  in  the  Godhead — and  that  this  help  is 
granted  us  through  the  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  conse- 
quently must  be  as  universal  as  his  atonement.  Faith,  then, 
implanted  in  the  heart  by  a  divine  operation,  is  the  beginning  of 
that  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works,  without 
which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.  Repentance,  in  this  case, 
being  always  supposed,  as'  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  exercise  a 
lively  and  effectual  trust  in  the  blood  of  a  crucified  Redeemer, 
without  having  that  perception  of  the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin, 
which  will  lead  to  godly  sorrow.  Here  then,  the  good  seed 
having  taken  root,  cannot  fail,  under  the  gentle  dews  of  heavenly 
grace,  to  produce  the  fruits  of  holiness  in  heart  and  life ;  "  For 
every  man  that  hath  this  hope  in  him," — that  is,  the  hope  of  salva- 
tion by  faith  in  Christ,  "purifieth  himself  even  as  he  is  pure." 

5.  I  am  admonished,  however,  to  hasten  to  our  last  topic  of 
consideration — the  divinely  appointed  means  of  attaining,  for  our 
conversion  and  sanctification,  the  necessary  aids  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  And  here  time  will  permit  me  to  do  little  more  than 
barely  to  enumerate  these  means.  To  avoid  misapprehension, 
consider  them  as  adapted  to  the  case  of  two  classes  of  indi- 
viduals,— to  those  baptized  in  infancy,  and  to  such  as  have  lived 
without  baptism  to  adult  age  ; — the  infant,  placed  in  that  cove- 
3 


18 


riant  relation  to  God,  denominated  in  Scripture  being  bom  anew 
of  water  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  or  the  being  saved  by  the  washing 
of  regeneration,*  is  to  be  regarded  as  freed  from  the  curse  of 
original  sin,  as  under  the  tutelage  of  the  divine  Spirit,  assiduously 
to  be  trained  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  Thus 
treated  by  the  parent,  as  a  member  of  Christ,  the  child  of  God, 
and  an  inheritor  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  by  his  putting  him  in 
timely  remembrance  of  his  solemn  vow,  promise  and  profession ; 
by  faithfully  instructing  him  according  to  the  strict  tenor  of  that 
vow ;  by  leading  him  onward  by  the  powerful  influence  of  a 
godly  example  ;  and  by  daily  pleading  in  his  behalf,  the  mercy 
of  a  covenant  God,  there  may  be  expected  to  follow  that  renew- 
ing of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  repentance  unto  life,  that/a^/i  ivhich 
works  by  love — in  short,  that  new  creature  in  Christ  Jesus, 
which  we  are  taught  to  look  for  as  the  legitimate  result  of  this 
covenant  state.  When  such  means,  in  dependence  upon  the 
divine  Spirit,  are  employed  with  the  child,  he  will,  at  a  proper 
age,  be  prepared  to  make  a  public  declaration  of  his  faith  in 
Christ  agreeably  to  the  terms  of  the  covenant,  and  to  receive 
an  increased  measure  of  God's  grace  in  the  divine  rite  of  con- 
firmation ;  and  to  continue  to  show  forth  the  Lord's  death,  and 
to  commune  with  him  in  the  blessed  sacrament  of  his  body  and 
blood. 

But  let  no  man  deceive  himself  in  this  matter,  and  think 
to  obtain  the  favor  of  God  by  a  heartless  performance  of  these 
external  duties,  while  the  affections  and  the  life  are  given  to  the 
ivorld.  If  the  distinguishing  fruits  of  the  Spirit  be  wanting,  no 
outward  condition  or  ordinance  can  in  any  respect  supply  the 
deficiency.  Indeed,  the  blood  of  the  covenant  thus  trodden 
under  foot,  cries  to  heaven  for  deeper  vengeance  upon  the  per- 
jured soul.  "  Every  branch  in  me,"  says  the  Son  of  God, 
"  that  beareth  not  fruit,  is  taken  away,  and  men  gather  them  and 
cast  them  into  the  fire,  and  they  are  burned."    To  those,  there- 


*  See  this  subject  treated  at  large  by  Dr.  Waterland,  in  his  admirable  discourse 
upon  Regeneration,  stated  and  explained  according  to  Scripture  and  antiquity, 
in  connexion  with  Bishop  Sumner's  Apostolical  Preaching.  On  Grace,  chap.  iv. 
part  1. 


19 

fore,  who  have  thus  crucified  the  Son  of  God  afresh,  by  disre- 
garding the  obligations  of  his  covenant  of  love,  we  can  only 
address  the  pressing  calls  of  repentance  and  return  to  the  way 
of  life.  "  Repent  and  turn  yourselves  from  all  your  transgres- 
sions, so  iniquity  shall  not  be  your  ruin." 

The  means  of  divine  grace,  however,  are  to  be  employed  by 
such  as  without  baptism,  have  arrived  at  adult  age  in  a  some- 
what different  order.  To  render  a  covenant  state  of  any  avail 
to  them,  they  must  enter  it  in  the  vigorous  exercise  of  evan- 
gelical faith  and  repentance — must  first  experience  the  renewing 
power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  regard  to  a  point  so  clear  I 
shall  adduce  but  a  single  text  of  Scripture,  and  that  for  the  sake 
of  illustration  rather  than  proof: — to  the  eunuch  requesting  to 
be  baptized,  Philip,  the  deacon,  replies,  "  If  thou  believest  with 
all  thine  heart,  thou  mayest."  The  means,  therefore,  which 
these  unconverted  persons  should  be  exhorted  to  use,  are  such 
as  may  be  best  calculated  to  awaken  in  their  minds  a  conviction 
of  guilt,  and  to  lead  them  to  faith  in  the  Son  of  God;  such  as 
serious  reflection,  prayer,  searching  the  Scriptures,  and  devout 
attendance  upon  the  instructions  of  the  sanctuary.  But  so  soon 
as  the  divine  Spirit  fixes  upon  the  heart  the  first  impress  of  a 
Saviour's  love,  and  the  first  solemn  resolution  to  pursue  the 
strait  and  narrow  way  to  the  kingdom  of  glory,  the  sinner 
should  proceed  to  renounce  his  sins,  in  the  laver  of  regeneration, 
and  to  receive  from  God  the  Father,  through  the  death  of 
Christ  the  Son,  a  covenant  title  to  the  blessings  of  eternal  life. 
While  then  we  insist  upon  repentance  and  faith  as  essential 
qualifications  in  adults  for  Christian  baptism,  it  is  highly  import- 
ant that  we  guard  against  the  error  which  many  timid  persons, 
under  the  influence  of  fanatical  prejudice,  fall  into,  of  expecting 
in  themselves  the  ripe  fruits  of  the  Spirit  before  they  enter  upon 
that  process  of  divine  culture,  which  alone  is  designed  to  bring 
these  fruits  to  perfection.  Religion,  in  the  soul  of  man,  as 
uniformly  set  forth  in  the  word  of  God,  has  a  state  of  infancy 
and  of  manhood;  and  he  who  demands  of  the  "babe  in  Christ" 
the  same  evidences  of  conversion  as  of  him  who  has  arrived  at 
the  "fulness  of  his  stature,"  acts  in  opposition  to  the  instructions 


20 


of  our  great  High  Priest,  who  did  not  break  the  bruised  reed,  nor 
quench  the  smoking  flax. 

The  means  by  which,  after  being  duly  adopted  into  the  family 
of  God,  we  are  to  be  nourished  up  into  everlasting  life,  are 
furnished  in  the  instructions  and  ordinances  of  his  house. 
Already  have  I  spoken  of  confirmation,  or  the  laying  on  of 
hands,  and  the  holy  supper  of  the  Lord,  as  among  the  most 
important  means  of  grace,  as  they  are  a'mong  the  most  binding 
acts  of  Christian  obedience  :  the  former  of  which,  although  not 
possessing  with  the  latter  the  high  character  of  a  sacrament,  still 
must  be  regarded  as  set  forth  with  no  less  authority  as  belonging 
to  the  principles  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ.  As  to  the  views  of 
St.  Paul  upon  the  every-day  duties  of  the  Christian,  it  cannot  be 
necessary  that  I  should  here  detain  you :  he  who  knows  any 
thing  of  the  plague  of  his  own  heart,  or  of  the  dangers  which 
beset  the  narrow  way  of  life,  has  not  yet  to  learn,  that  daily 
prayer,  daily  self-examination,  and  daily  study  of  the  divine 
oracles,  can  alone  preserve  him  unspotted  from  the  world,  and 
enable  him  "  to  grow  in  grace,  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ." 

In  order,  however,  to  realize  the  full  and  proper  effect  of  these 
means,  St.  Paul,  clearly,  to  my  mind,  insists  upon  the  import- 
ance of  our  keeping  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace. 
And  he  does  not  leave  it  doubtful,  as  to  what  is  implied  in  this 
duty,  but  proceeds  to  state  explicitly  that  there  is  but  one  body, 
meaning  the  Church,*  and  one  Spirit,  even  as  ye  are  called  in 
one  hope  of  your  calling ;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism  ; 
and  that  this  Lord,  previous  to  his  ascension  into  heaven,  com- 
missioned certain  disciples,  with  their  successors  to  the  end  of 
time,  to  act  in  his  Church,  according  to  their  several  grades  of 
office,  "  for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ  ;  till  we  all 
come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son 
of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man,  unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fulness  of  Christ  ;  that  we  henceforth  be  no  more  children, 


*  Coloss.  i.  18. 


tossed  to  and  fro,  arid  carried  about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine, 
by  the  sleight  of  men,  and  cunning  craftiness,  whereby  they  lie 
in  wait  to  deceive  ;  but  speaking  the  truth  in  love,  may  grow  up 
into  him  in  all  things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ,  from 
whom  the  whole  body  fitly  joined  together,  and  compacted  by 
that  which  every  joint  supplieth,  according  to  the  effectual 
working  in  the  measure  of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the 
body  unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love." 

The  unprejudiced  mind  will  discover,  in  this  passage,  that  for 
the  purpose  of  uniting  his  people  to  himself  on  earth,  and  fitting 
them  for  his  immediate  presence  in  the  heavens,  our  Lord  has 
called  them  out  from  the  world  into  a  visible  society,  denomi- 
nated his  body,  and  in  other  places,  his  Church  :  that  this  Church 
possesses  certain  characteristics,  so  intimately  connected,  as  to 
render  the  presence  of  each  one  as  necessary  to  the  full  opera- 
tion of  the  whole,  as  the  joints  and  sinews  of  the  human  body  are 
to  its  proper  health  and  action  ;  and  that  the  principal  link  in 
this  bond  of  union  with  the  Saviour,  and  the  one  which  seems 
to  give  due  efficiency  to  every  other,  is  the  ministry,  which  he 
established,  and  to  which  he  gave  his  promise  that  it  should  be 
perpetuated  in  unbroken  succession  to  the  end  of  time.* 

It  is,  then,  in  our  cordial  belief  of  the  doctrines,  and  in  our 
submission  to  the  ordinances  of  the  Church,  as  dispensed  by  the 
ministry  which  Christ  has  set  over  it,  that  we  are  to  maintain 
a  Scriptural  union  with  him,  its  divine  Head.  It  is  this  union 
of  his  followers  for  which  our  blessed  Lord  so  fervently  prayed 
just  previous  to  his  agony  on  the  cross ;  it  is  this  which  the 
Apostles  so  constantly  urged  upon  the  Churches  as  essential  to 
their  spiritual  welfare ;  and  it  is  this  which  Was  so  beautifully 
illustrated  in  the  lives  of  the  first  Christians,  of  whom  it  is  said, 
that,  having  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  been  admitted  by 
baptism  into  his  Church,  they  continued  steadfastly  in  the  Apostles* 
doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of  bread,  and  in  prayers. 
And  finally,  to  give  to  all  these  things  the  most  stirring  and 

*  For  the  author's  views  of  the  ministry,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  excellent 
sermons  of  Bishop  Ravenscroft  on  this  subject,  and  to  the  "Works  on  Episcopacy," 
published  by  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Press. 


22 


resistless  force  ;  to  deter  the  vicious,  arouse  the  indolent,  and 
animate  the  wavering,  the  Apostle  does  not  cease  to  appeal  to 
the  awful  scene,  when  death  shall  close  the  work  of  human 
probation,  and  hurry  us  to  the  eternal  awards  of  the  great  judg- 
ment; the  awful  scene,  when  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead 
shall  arise,  and  this  corruptible  put  on  incorruption  and  this  mortal 
immortality ;  and  when,  under  the  sentence  of  a  just  retribution, 
the  wicked  shall  go  away  into  everlasting  punishment^  and  the 
righteous  into  life  eternal. 

Thus,  Christian  Brethren,  have  I  endeavored  to  give  you  the 
apostolical  view  of  the  message  of  a  Gospel  minister ;  to  point 
out  as  plainly  as  the  time  would  permit,  what  is  implied  in 
preaching  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified.  To  lay  before  you 
the  Scripture  truths,  and  that  system  of  divinely  appointed 
means,  which,  if  pressed  home  upon  the  consciences  of  our 
hearers  with  suitable  discrimination  and  dependence  upon  God's 
blessing,  can  hardly  fail  to  produce  that  renovation  of  heart, 
that  spirituality  of  view,  that  holiness  of  life,  without  which  they 
are  all  utterly  vain — without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord. 

The  application  of  my  subject  must  be  in  few  words  ;  indeed 
I  owe  you  an  apology,  Brethren,  for  the  claims  already  made 
upon  your  patience ;  but  I  plead  the  cause  of  Christ  crucified, 
and  in  view  of  his  seat  of  judgment,  where,  with  every  one  of 
you,  I  must  stand,  and  give  account  of  my  stewardship.  Oh,  fear- 
ful account !  and  oh,  how  soon  may  we  be  called  to  it ! 

1.  As  we  contemplate  it,  let  me  appeal  first  to  you,  Brethren 
and  companions  in  the  sacred  office ;  and  entreat  you  to  call 
often  to  mind,  that  our  message  is  received  from  a  crucified 
Master.  The  reflection  will  at  once  suggest,  that  his  love,  which 
commendeth  itself  so  strongly  from  the  cross,  should  constrain  us 
to  follow,  and  with  undeviating  caution,  the  guidance  of  his 
blessed  Gospel,  in  publishing  this  message.  Brethren,  we  con- 
sider not  the  temptations  to  depart  from  this  suggestion :  the 
natural  indolence  of  our  minds  may  often  lead  us  to  prefer  the 
tinsel  offering  of  our  own,  prepared  at  little  cost,  to  the  pure 
gold,  brought  up  with  hard  labor  from  the  deep  treasures  of 


23 


Gospel  truth  ;  or  our  thirst  for  literary  fame  may  almost  unwit- 
tingly lead  us  to  infuse  into  our  discourses  more  of  the  senti- 
ments of  a  heathen  sage,  than  of  an  inspired  apostle.  But  what 
usually  lies  at  the  bottom  of  all  this  evil,  is  the  pride  of  a  self- 
deceiving  heart.  Startle  not  at  this,  beloved  Brethren ;  ministers 
of  the  lowly  Saviour  as  we  are,  our  hearts  are  still  more  or  less 
susceptible  to  the  blinding  impulses  of  pride.  And  these  may 
prompt  us  to  depart  from  the  simplicity  of  the  Gospel,  in  order 
to  appear  original,  or  striking,  or  great.  But  let  us  remember, 
that  the  most  original,  the  most  striking,  and  the  greatest  preacher 
that  earth  can  furnish,  is  but  a  fallen  being,  with  every  percep- 
tion dimmed,  and  every  faculty  debased.  When,  therefore,  we 
resort  to  our  reason  for  a  single  truth,  or  to  our  fancy  for  a 
single  speculation,  unguided  by  the  plain  teachings  of  God's 
word,  depend  upon  it,  we  resort  to  a  corrupt  and  equivocal 
source.  And  besides,  in  the  study  of  God's  word  we  must  be 
much  in  prayer,  much  on  our  watch,  lest  the  cross  of  Christ 
become  an  offence  to  us,  or  the  inspired  delineations  of  our  guilt 
become  repulsive  to  our  pride.  How  often  has  the  conceited 
schoolman  succeeded  in  doing  away,  in  his  own  view,  the  Scrip- 
tural doctrine  of  human  depravity,  while  led  blindfold  in  his 
efforts  by  the  very  depravity  which  he  would  deny.  Let  us 
beware  then,  Brethren,  of  these  ruinous  devices  of  a  proud 
heart,  and  with  his  word  in  our  hand  cast  ourselves  at  the  feet 
of  an  omniscient  Master,  praying  always,  "  Lord,  increase  our 
faith !" 

2.  Another  consideration,  my  clerical  Brethren,  which  I 
would  urge  upon  you,  is  the  importance  of  presenting  from  time 
to  time,  to  your  hearers,  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  somewhat  in 
the  order  in  which  I  have  now  stated  them.  My  reasons  are 
many  and  strong,  I  can  only  name  a  few  of  them :  order  per- 
vades the  arrangements  of  Providence  throughout  our  world — 
things  are  in  their  proper  places,  and  arise  before  us  in  regular 
and  beautiful  succession. 

Order  marks  the  best  and  most  successful  operations  of  men ; 
— the  man  of  system,  in  whatever  profession  or  employment,  is 
certain  to  be  far  ahead  of  his  competitors..    Observe  the  incul- 


cation  of  human  principles  and  ideas  : — Where  is  the  nursery  of 
the  infant  mind,  in  which  system  is  not  followed? — and  if  not 
followed,  where  can  true  success  be  found  ?  But  can  order  be 
so  natural  and  so  important  in  these  things ;  and  should  it  be 
wholly  dispensed  with  in  our  religious  instructions  ?  I  am  con- 
fident that  much  ultimate  advantage  would  result  to  our  congre- 
gations from  delivering  our  discourses,  at  least  one  every  Lord's 
day,  in  the  order  now  proposed.  Besides,  it  would  secure  the 
exhibition  of  the  whole  truth.  We  are  often  governed  by  an 
unjust  preference  in  the  choice  of  our  subjects ;  our  minds  are 
led  away  by  the  imposing  character  of  one  doctrine,  or  our 
hearts  deeply  penetrated  by  the  saving  nature  of  another ;  and 
we  make  it  the  constant  theme  of  our  public  addresses,  to  the 
entire  neglect  and  consequent  discouragement  of  others,  no  less 
needful  to  the  man  of  God,  that  he  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly 
furnished  unto  every  good  work.  The  observance  of  system  in 
exhibiting  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  Christ  crucified,  will  at 
once  correct  the  evil,  and  insure  to  every  prominent  truth  a 
certain  degree  of  attention.  This  method  also  will  be  found 
greatly  to  facilitate  the  preparations  for  the  pulpit,  to  the  minis- 
ter who  observes  it.  It  will  naturally  lead  his  mind,  too,  away 
from  itself,  to  proper  dependence  for  its  knowledge  upon  the 
wisdom  of  God  ;  to  give  it  a  directness,  and  a  vigor,  and  a 
spirituality,  which  nothing  can  give  it  but  a  thorough  and  sys- 
tematic training  in  the  oracles  of  truth.  In  short,  this  system 
in  preaching  comports  exactly  with  the  designs  and  provisions 
of  the  Church.  Her  services,  her  creeds,  her  catechism,  her 
ecclesiastical  year,  and  all  that  pertains  to  her,  are  set  forth  in 
uniform  and  beautiful  order :  follow  her  example,  then,  my 
Brethren  of  the  clergy,  by  presenting  her  doctrines  according  to 
some  system ;  always  reserving  to  yourselves  one  occasion  in 
the  week  to  adapt  your  instructions,  admonitions,  or  encourage- 
ments to  the  particular  state  of  your  congregations. 

3.  But  again,  do  not  forget  to  make  the  great  leading  doctrines 
of  the  cross  the  leading  topics  of  your  discourse.  Nothing  will 
humble  the  human  heart  but  a  sense  of  its  deep  corruption — 
nothing  will  detach  it  /rom  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil,  but 


25 


the  power  of  Christ's  love.  Let,  then,  our  self-ruined  and 
guilty  state,  and  the  truth  that  our  hopes  rest  alone  in  the  blood 
of  Jesus,  for  spiritual  and  eternal  good,  be  pressed  upon  the 
mind  and  the  affections  till  they  are  yielded  to  Christ.  The 
lukewarm  spirits  and  worldly  lives  which  we  are  called  so  often 
to  deplore,  in  professing  Christians,  may,  in  a  great  degree,  be 
ascribed  to  a  want  of  this  faithful  inculcation,  on  our  part,  of 
the  two  cardinal  truths  I  have  mentioned.  Let  us  be  faithful 
here;  and  we  shall  soon  experience  our  reward  in  that  hungering 
and  thirsting  after  righteousness,  in  that  overcoming  the  world,  that 
fighting  the  good  fight  of  faith,  that  perseverance  to  the  end  on  the 
part  of  our  hearers,  which  nothing  but  the  constraining  love  of 
Christ  can  produce. 

4.  Finally,  my  Brethren  of  the  clergy,  determine  with  St. 
Paul,  not  only  not  to  preach,  but  not  to  know  any  thing,  among 
your  people,  save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified.  Keep  far 
from  these  heavenly  doctrines,  all  questions  of  merely  earthly 
policy.  Let  them  not  become  fettered  and  weighed  down  by 
the  devices  of  man's  wisdom  :  they  are  able  to  stand  alone — 
yea,  to  have  free  course  and  be  glorified  without  any  adventitious 
aid.  Their  own  life-giving  power,  if  left  unembarrassed,  will 
ever  prove  a  match  for  any  opposition  they  may  meet.  Jesus 
Christ  has  furnished  in  his  Church  sufficient  means  to  give  due 
effect  to  his  word.  Let  us  not,  then,  seek  to  ingraft  any  thing 
upon  these  with  the  vain  hope  of  producing  a  salutary  influence 
upon  human  passion,  to  which  they  are  not  adequate.  Any 
such  attempt,  though  it  may  subserve  a  temporary  purpose,  will 
end  in  evil  to  the  cause  of  our  Redeemer. 

And  in  conclusion,  let  us  be  persuaded  to  enforce  our  preach- 
ing by  our  lives ;  to  show  in  those  lives  that  we  have  been  with 
Jesus  ;  that  we  bear  about  in  our  bodies  the  dying  of  the  Lord. 
Let  us  keep  ourselves  from  the  entanglements  of  sense  ;  that  we 
may  stand  in  bold  relief  before  our  people  and  the  world,  as  the 
ambassadors  of  a  divine  and  crucified  Master. 

To  you,  my  Brethren  of  the  laity,  my  concluding  word  is,  act 
up  to  the  high  privileges  you  enjoy ;  let  the  love  of  Christ  con- 
4 


26 


strain  you ;  let  it  be  seen  in  all  that  you  say  and  do,  that  you 
are  grounded  and  settled  in  the  truth ;  in  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus  ;  that  you  are  governed  by  the  love  of  Him  who  was 
crucified  to  save  you. 

Great  are  the  responsibilities  of  every  intelligent  being  who 
draws  the  breath  of  life  in  a  Gospel  land ;  great  must  be  his 
account.  But  if  there  be  one  class  of  these  beings  more 
responsible,  more  pressed  by  the  solemnities  of  judgment  than 
another,  that  class  is  Episcopalians — their  measure  of  spiritual 
blessings  is  full  ! 


